Review: Capitalism: A Love Story

For his seventh feature film, Michael Moore assumes his prominent
position of government watchdog, gathering fragments of corruption and
humiliation to mold his latest attack on the powers that be in,
"Capitalism: A Love Story" (IMDb listing). Obviously there’s plenty of maddening
evidence to work with, and while the picture comes off as overstuffed
and unfinished, it still squeezes out incredibly forceful points on
the diseased state of the union. Whatever it lacks in a red-target
focal point, it’s still Moore doing what he does best: chipping away
the layers of fraud that have calcified America, hoping to inspire
others to storm the streets and question authority.

The topic here is capitalism, that ivory spine of the American Dream,
helping to build a strong and prosperous country. But what if
capitalism soured? What if the very concept turned from something
intended to benefit the many into a private gold mine for the few?
Fueled by the fallout that shadowed the financial collapse of the last
year, Moore found his curiosity piqued by the unnerving nationwide
turbulence that greeted the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of
2008 and various other financial indignities. The divide between the
rich and poor was growing wider, leaving Moore to question just what
was running the Washington machine, the politicians or Wall Street.

Before the torches are lit and the anti-Moore matter is poked into a
rage, keep in mind that "Love Story" is a comedy, bred in the same
fashion as the rest of the director’s filmography. It’s the
infotainment he’s built a brand name upon, and the mix of
finger-pointing, streetwise shenanigans, and cooing pander makes for
terrific cinema. "Love Story" deviates from previous Moore carnivals
with its timely fashion, hoping to lasso an argument and an
explanation for current financial woes while the griddle still burns,
tapping into the rage that’s seeping into the national conversation.
It’s a smart play by Moore, but it blunts his body blows some,
scattering his arguments in so many directions, it’s hard to keep up.
Of course the confusion is appropriate, what with a convoluted
financial system built to exclude the masses (creating a "plutonomy,"
much to the delight of the money men), but it makes for a long 125
minute sit when previous Moore films have flown by with exquisite
fluidity.

Opening with the juxtaposition of ancient Rome with modern America,
"Love Story" seeks to explore the rise of capitalism, from its peak in
the 1960s to its current bloodied state today. What was once a
semi-golden ride of prosperity and middle-class unity hit some rocky
road in the late 1970s, but the tires blew out in the ‘80s, and Moore
aims his crosshairs at the man responsible: Ronald Reagan. A president
who bonded financial control to Wall Street tycoons, "Love Story"
starts tugging at a thread that snakes through the Clinton
administration and ends up tied to the doorstep of Bush Jr. It’s a
blizzard of secretive plans, corrupt politicians bought off to
encourage deregulation, and fear mongering that set most of America up
for failure, but not before unreasonable profiteering could be carried
out. It’s capitalism unleashed, with humanity, or even the slightest
bit of compassion, bled out of a system increasingly loyal only to a
select few, not the necessary many.

Moore has always developed his finest points by reducing hysteria to
focus on the common man. "Love Story" is ripe with heartland emotion,
and while the numerous shots of teary eyed men and women read as a
step too manipulative, the salient points remain. Caught in the web of
greed and predatory promises, families are losing their houses,
low-paying jobs, and faith in government. It’s an epidemic, reducing
human beings to piles of cash for the plundering. Moore is careful to
underline the invasive practices, including one pungent subplot that
exposes major corporations taking life insurance policies out on their
employees, making them profitable even in death.

Moore looks to end on a beat of hope, though even he seems tired of
the war. As always, Moore hopes to challenge viewers with his vision
of deception, using broad comedy to sweeten the poison (the director
runs around Wall Street asking for the bailout money back and quizzes
employees on the purposely complex financial system), but he
ultimately aims to rile up the masses. "Capitalism: A Love Story"
works skillfully as a battle cry, and while the fatigue shows, the
feature presents a subject matter that needs to addressed and
exhaustively discussed as much as humanly possible.

For his seventh feature film, Michael Moore assumes his prominent\nposition of government watchdog, gathering fragments of corruption and\nhumiliation to mold his latest attack on the powers that be in,\n\"Capitalism: A Love Story\" (IMDb listing). Obviously there’s plenty of maddening\nevidence to work with, and while the picture comes off as overstuffed\nand unfinished, it still squeezes out incredibly forceful points on\nthe diseased state of the union. Whatever it lacks in a red-target\nfocal point, it’s still Moore doing what he does best: chipping away\nthe layers of fraud that have calcified America, hoping to inspire\nothers to storm the streets and question authority.\n\n

\n\nThe topic here is capitalism, that ivory spine of the American Dream,\nhelping to build a strong and prosperous country. But what if\ncapitalism soured? What if the very concept turned from something\nintended to benefit the many into a private gold mine for the few?\nFueled by the fallout that shadowed the financial collapse of the last\nyear, Moore found his curiosity piqued by the unnerving nationwide\nturbulence that greeted the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of\n2008 and various other financial indignities. The divide between the\nrich and poor was growing wider, leaving Moore to question just what\nwas running the Washington machine, the politicians or Wall Street.\n\n\n

\nBefore the torches are lit and the anti-Moore matter is poked into a\nrage, keep in mind that \"Love Story\" is a comedy, bred in the same\nfashion as the rest of the director’s filmography. It’s the\ninfotainment he’s built a brand name upon, and the mix of\nfinger-pointing, streetwise shenanigans, and cooing pander makes for\nterrific cinema. \"Love Story\" deviates from previous Moore carnivals\nwith its timely fashion, hoping to lasso an argument and an\nexplanation for current financial woes while the griddle still burns,\ntapping into the rage that’s seeping into the national conversation.\nIt’s a smart play by Moore, but it blunts his body blows some,\nscattering his arguments in so many directions, it’s hard to keep up.\nOf course the confusion is appropriate, what with a convoluted\nfinancial system built to exclude the masses (creating a \"plutonomy,\"\nmuch to the delight of the money men), but it makes for a long 125\nminute sit when previous Moore films have flown by with exquisite\nfluidity.\n\n\n

\nOpening with the juxtaposition of ancient Rome with modern America,\n\"Love Story\" seeks to explore the rise of capitalism, from its peak in\nthe 1960s to its current bloodied state today. What was once a\nsemi-golden ride of prosperity and middle-class unity hit some rocky\nroad in the late 1970s, but the tires blew out in the ‘80s, and Moore\naims his crosshairs at the man responsible: Ronald Reagan. A president\nwho bonded financial control to Wall Street tycoons, \"Love Story\"\nstarts tugging at a thread that snakes through the Clinton\nadministration and ends up tied to the doorstep of Bush Jr. It’s a\nblizzard of secretive plans, corrupt politicians bought off to\nencourage deregulation, and fear mongering that set most of America up\nfor failure, but not before unreasonable profiteering could be carried\nout. It’s capitalism unleashed, with humanity, or even the slightest\nbit of compassion, bled out of a system increasingly loyal only to a\nselect few, not the necessary many.\n\n

\n\nMoore has always developed his finest points by reducing hysteria to\nfocus on the common man. \"Love Story\" is ripe with heartland emotion,\nand while the numerous shots of teary eyed men and women read as a\nstep too manipulative, the salient points remain. Caught in the web of\ngreed and predatory promises, families are losing their houses,\nlow-paying jobs, and faith in government. It’s an epidemic, reducing\nhuman beings to piles of cash for the plundering. Moore is careful to\nunderline the invasive practices, including one pungent subplot that\nexposes major corporations taking life insurance policies out on their\nemployees, making them profitable even in death.\n\n\n

\nMoore looks to end on a beat of hope, though even he seems tired of\nthe war. As always, Moore hopes to challenge viewers with his vision\nof deception, using broad comedy to sweeten the poison (the director\nruns around Wall Street asking for the bailout money back and quizzes\nemployees on the purposely complex financial system), but he\nultimately aims to rile up the masses. \"Capitalism: A Love Story\"\nworks skillfully as a battle cry, and while the fatigue shows, the\nfeature presents a subject matter that needs to addressed and\nexhaustively discussed as much as humanly possible.